CSV Formatting

When exporting to CSV format (.csv extension), FastTransfer provides extensive formatting options.

Delimiter

Use the -d or --delimiter parameter to specify the character(s) used to separate fields.

./FastTransfer \
...
 --fileoutput "data.csv" \
 --delimiter "," \
...

Syntax:

• Short form: -d "delimiter"
• Long form: --delimiter "delimiter"

Default: , (comma)

Common Delimiters

Comma (CSV)

 --delimiter ","

Tab (TSV)

 --delimiter "\t"

Pipe

 --delimiter "|"

Semicolon

 --delimiter ";"

Use Quotes

Use the -t or --quotes switch to enclose string fields in double quotes.

./FastTransfer \
...
 --fileoutput "products.csv" \
 --quotes \
...

Syntax:

• Short form: -t
• Long form: --quotes

Default: Without quotes

Without --quotes

ProductID,ProductName,Description,Price
1,Widget A,Small widget,19.99
2,Widget B,Large widget,29.99

With --quotes

"ProductID","ProductName","Description","Price"
"1","Widget A","Small widget","19.99"
"2","Widget B","Large widget","29.99"

Information

When --quotes, any double quotes (") in the data are escaped with backslash (\").

Date Format

Use the -f or --dateformat parameter to specify how dates and timestamps are formatted.

./FastTransfer \
...
 --fileoutput "orders.csv" 
 --dateformat "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss" \
...

Syntax:

• Short form: -f "format"
• Long form: --dateformat "format"

Default: Database default format

Format Codes

Code	Description	Example
yyyy	4-digit year	2026
MM	Month (01-12)	01
dd	Day (01-31)	07
HH	Hour 24h (00-23)	14
mm	Minute (00-59)	30
ss	Second (00-59)	22

Decimal Separator

Use the -n or --decimalseparator parameter to specify the decimal separator for numeric values.

./FastTransfer \
...
 --fileoutput "products.csv" 
 --decimalseparator ","
...

Syntax:

• Short form: -n "separator"
• Long form: --decimalseparator "separator"

Default: . (period/dot)

No Header

Use the -h or --noheader parameter to exclude column headers from the output.

./FastTransfer \
...
 --fileoutput "customers.csv" \
 --noheader \
...

Syntax:

• Short form: -h
• Long form: --noheader

Without --noheader (default)

CustomerID,CustomerName,Email
1,John Doe,john@example.com
2,Jane Smith,jane@example.com

With --noheader

1,John Doe,john@example.com
2,Jane Smith,jane@example.com

Boolean Format

Use the -b or --boolformat parameter to specify how boolean values are represented.

./FastTransfer \
...
 --fileoutput "products.csv" \
 --boolformat "1/0" \
...

Syntax:

• Short form: -b "format"
• Long form: --boolformat "format"

Default: 1/0

Options:

• true/false (default)
• t/f
• 1/0
• yes/no
• y/n

With --boolformat "true/false" (default):

ProductID,ProductName,InStock,Discontinued
1,Widget A,true,false
2,Widget B,false,true

With --boolformat "1/0":

ProductID,ProductName,InStock,Discontinued
1,Widget A,1,0
2,Widget B,0,1

With --boolformat "yes/no":

ProductID,ProductName,InStock,Discontinued
1,Widget A,yes,no
2,Widget B,no,yes

Complete Example

Windows

.\\FastTransfer.exe `
  --connectiontype mssql `
  --server "localhost" `
  --database "AdventureWorks" `
  --trusted `
  --query "SELECT OrderID, OrderDate, CustomerName, TotalAmount, IsShipped FROM Sales.Orders WHERE OrderDate >= '2024-01-01'" `
  --directory "C:\exports\sales" `
  --fileoutput "orders_{startdate}.csv" `
  --delimiter "," `
  --quotes `
  --dateformat "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss" `
  --decimalseparator "." `
  --boolformat "1/0" `
  --encoding "UTF-8"

Linux

./FastTransfer \
  --connectiontype mssql \
  --server "localhost" \
  --database "AdventureWorks" \
  --trusted \
  --query "SELECT OrderID, OrderDate, CustomerName, TotalAmount, IsShipped FROM Sales.Orders WHERE OrderDate >= '2024-01-01'" \
  --directory "/exports/sales" \
  --fileoutput "orders_{startdate}.csv" \
  --delimiter "," \
  --quotes \
  --dateformat "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss" \
  --decimalseparator "." \
  --boolformat "1/0" \
  --encoding "UTF-8"

Output (orders_20260107.csv):

"OrderID","OrderDate","CustomerName","TotalAmount","IsShipped"
"1001","2026-01-05 10:30:00","John Doe","299.99","1"
"1002","2026-01-05 11:15:00","Jane Smith","149.50","0"
"1003","2026-01-06 09:20:00","Bob Johnson","599.00","1"

tip

For Excel compatibility, use .xlsx format instead: --fileoutput "data.xlsx"